He was quite <u>concerned</u> about his son's career. (Select the word that is most opposite in meaning to the underlined word.)
- (a)unrelated
- (b)indifferent
- (c)dispassionate
- (d)carefree
Correct — B, 'indifferent'. Here 'concerned about' means troubled by and caring about something, so its reverse is having no interest in it at all, which is what 'indifferent' names. A father indifferent to his son's career is the exact contrary of one who is quite concerned about it.
- (a)unrelated — This reverses the other sense of 'concerned', the one meaning involved or connected, as in 'the people concerned'; the preposition 'about' in the sentence points to the caring sense instead.
- (c)dispassionate — A dispassionate person judges without letting feelings intrude, which is a form of fairness; he may still care deeply about the outcome.
- (d)carefree — Carefree describes a light-hearted general temper rather than the absence of care about one particular thing.
'Concerned' splits into two senses that take different prepositions — concerned about something means worried about it, while the people concerned are the people involved.
The item plants an antonym for each sense and lets the preposition decide. 'Unrelated' would be right if the sentence read 'the officers concerned'; it reads 'concerned about his son's career', which selects the caring sense, and only 'indifferent' reverses that. Reading the preposition attached to the word is the quickest way through items of this kind.
- 'As far as X is concerned' uses the involvement sense, not the worry sense.
- 'Indifferent' also has a second meaning, mediocre, as in an indifferent performance.
- 'Dispassionate' means free from bias or emotion in judging, which is generally a compliment.
- Picking 'unrelated' by reading the involvement sense of 'concerned'.
- Treating 'dispassionate' as though it meant uncaring rather than impartial.
Asked as an antonym item — choose the word most opposite in meaning to the underlined word.
Scientists are concerned whether the oceans and land biosphere will take up as much carbon in the future as they presently do.
- (a) worried
- (b) indifferent
- (c) curious
- (d) puzzled
Answer(b) indifferent
The same word and the same answer three years later, again as an antonym item — and there too 'worried' is offered as the synonym decoy. Together the two papers settle that the reverse of 'concerned' in its caring sense is 'indifferent'.
The party was excellent, and I would like to thank all the people <u>concerned</u>.
- (a) cared
- (b) attentive
- (c) dependable
- (d) uninvolved
Answer(d) uninvolved
The same word in its other sense. There it means involved or connected, so the key is 'uninvolved' — the exact reversal that option (a) 'unrelated' offers in this item and that the preposition 'about' rules out here.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Choose the word most opposite in meaning to 'concerned' in 'The parents were concerned about the delay.'
- (a)involved
- (b)unworried
- (c)informed
- (d)impatient
Answer(b) unworried — concerned about something means troubled by it.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Choose the word most opposite in meaning to 'indifferent' in 'He was indifferent to their complaints.'
- (a)attentive
- (b)impartial
- (c)ordinary
- (d)silent
Answer(a) attentive — indifference is the absence of interest or care.